NanoAvionics’ Spacecraft Bus Enables Successful Solar Sail Deployment in NASA’s ACS3 Mission

NanoAvionics’ Spacecraft Bus Enables Successful Solar Sail Deployment in NASA’s ACS3 Mission

The solar sail aboard NASA‘s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) satellite, using a spacecraft bus built by Kongsberg NanoAvionics (NanoAvionics), has successfully deployed. The deployment, a primary objective of the ACS3 mission, was confirmed by telemetry and images captured by the satellite’s onboard cameras.

Solar Sail Onboard Camera Image

The ACS3 mission, led and operated by NASA’s Ames Research Center in California‘s Silicon Valley, is a groundbreaking technology demonstration designed to test an 860-square-foot (80-square-meter) solar sail and new deployable composite boom technologies for future space missions. This novel propulsion method harnesses the pressure of sunlight on large reflective polymer sheets, offering a potential new means of propelling small satellites on long-duration missions without the need for traditional propellants. The composite booms may also be used for building complex structures on the Moon or even Mars, such as trusses for communications towers, surface shelters like hangars or very long antennas for rovers.

ACS3 over Klaipeda, Lithuania

NanoAvionics contributed to this mission by designing and manufacturing the 12U nanosatellite bus, which serves as the test-bed for NASA’s solar sail technology. The satellite was deployed into its designated orbit on April 24, 2024, by Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle from Mahia, New Zealand. With NanoAvionics support, NASA integrated the solar sail and other mission components into the satellite bus and has been managing the satellite’s operations.

12U Nanosatellite in NanoAvionics Cleanroom

Atle Gjerløw Wøllo, CEO of NanoAvionics, said: “We are immensely proud to have provided enabling technology to NASA in this pioneering technology demonstration. The entire NanoAvionics team is honored to have contributed to a mission with such importance and potential to improve humanity’s advancements in interplanetary exploration and settlement in space.”

Data gathered from the solar sail deployment will support the advancement of this in-space propulsion technology. The following mission steps will re-engage the spacecraft’s attitude control system that was put in idle just before the deployment of the booms as part of the planned deployment sequence. NASA’s mission operators will test the maneuvering capabilities of the sail in space. Raising and lowering the orbit of the ACS3 spacecraft will provide valuable information that may help guide future concepts of operations and designs for solar sail-equipped science and exploration missions.

Mariano Perez, Quality Assurance Engineer at NASA AMES

NanoAvionics remains committed to providing reliable and innovative small satellite platforms for NASA’s and other federal agencies’ diverse mission needs, helping push the boundaries of space exploration. NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology program office, based at NASA Ames and led by the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, funds and manages the mission.

Click here to know more about NanoAvionics' Mission Services


Publisher: SatNow
Tags:-  SatelliteLaunchGround

GNSS Constellations - A list of all GNSS satellites by constellations

beidou

Satellite NameOrbit Date
BeiDou-3 G4Geostationary Orbit (GEO)17 May, 2023
BeiDou-3 G2Geostationary Orbit (GEO)09 Mar, 2020
Compass-IGSO7Inclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)09 Feb, 2020
BeiDou-3 M19Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)16 Dec, 2019
BeiDou-3 M20Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)16 Dec, 2019
BeiDou-3 M21Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)23 Nov, 2019
BeiDou-3 M22Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)23 Nov, 2019
BeiDou-3 I3Inclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)04 Nov, 2019
BeiDou-3 M23Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)22 Sep, 2019
BeiDou-3 M24Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)22 Sep, 2019

galileo

Satellite NameOrbit Date
GSAT0223MEO - Near-Circular05 Dec, 2021
GSAT0224MEO - Near-Circular05 Dec, 2021
GSAT0219MEO - Near-Circular25 Jul, 2018
GSAT0220MEO - Near-Circular25 Jul, 2018
GSAT0221MEO - Near-Circular25 Jul, 2018
GSAT0222MEO - Near-Circular25 Jul, 2018
GSAT0215MEO - Near-Circular12 Dec, 2017
GSAT0216MEO - Near-Circular12 Dec, 2017
GSAT0217MEO - Near-Circular12 Dec, 2017
GSAT0218MEO - Near-Circular12 Dec, 2017

glonass

Satellite NameOrbit Date
Kosmos 2569--07 Aug, 2023
Kosmos 2564--28 Nov, 2022
Kosmos 2559--10 Oct, 2022
Kosmos 2557--07 Jul, 2022
Kosmos 2547--25 Oct, 2020
Kosmos 2545--16 Mar, 2020
Kosmos 2544--11 Dec, 2019
Kosmos 2534--27 May, 2019
Kosmos 2529--03 Nov, 2018
Kosmos 2527--16 Jun, 2018

gps

Satellite NameOrbit Date
Navstar 82Medium Earth Orbit19 Jan, 2023
Navstar 81Medium Earth Orbit17 Jun, 2021
Navstar 78Medium Earth Orbit22 Aug, 2019
Navstar 77Medium Earth Orbit23 Dec, 2018
Navstar 76Medium Earth Orbit05 Feb, 2016
Navstar 75Medium Earth Orbit31 Oct, 2015
Navstar 74Medium Earth Orbit15 Jul, 2015
Navstar 73Medium Earth Orbit25 Mar, 2015
Navstar 72Medium Earth Orbit29 Oct, 2014
Navstar 71Medium Earth Orbit02 Aug, 2014

irnss

Satellite NameOrbit Date
NVS-01Geostationary Orbit (GEO)29 May, 2023
IRNSS-1IInclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)12 Apr, 2018
IRNSS-1HSub Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (Sub-GTO)31 Aug, 2017
IRNSS-1GGeostationary Orbit (GEO)28 Apr, 2016
IRNSS-1FGeostationary Orbit (GEO)10 Mar, 2016
IRNSS-1EGeosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)20 Jan, 2016
IRNSS-1DInclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)28 Mar, 2015
IRNSS-1CGeostationary Orbit (GEO)16 Oct, 2014
IRNSS-1BInclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)04 Apr, 2014
IRNSS-1AInclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)01 Jul, 2013